Did You Know
Celesta Reynolds' Death Was Shown Twice Celesta Reynolds' recruiting scene was first originally shown in an unfinished 2015 short film called "Curtain Call". The film was one of the last productions under "PioneersProductions" before the switch to "EGS Productions". This sequence was reanimated in June 2016 for the opening scene that preceded the intro release. 'Mackenzie West Was Originally Only A Background Character' Mackenzie West wasn't originally intended to play a major role in the series. She was originally shown in the background of the original intro sequence back in July 2015. It wasn't until that Autumn that she was added to Andrew, Sidney, and Froggy's band. 'There Weren't Any Band Members Besides Andrew Blaze In The Original "Comeback Song" Intro Sequence' Sidney Secor wasn't originally intended to be in the "Comeback Song" intro sequence. The sequence was originally only meant to have Andrew Blaze singing and playing the guitar. In June 2015 the decision was made to add band members to the piece. Being Andrew dominated the left area of the screen in most of the shots Sidney was designed left handed in order to fit proportionally in the frame. It made things more appealing and pleasant to the eye with the guitars mirroring one another. Froggy and Mackenzie were added in the final stages of the original intro version in late Summer 2015. "EGS" was originally live action combined with animation, and throughout the intro there were originally live video shots scattered throughout to fill in areas that would eventually be filled by the band members. 'Andrew Blaze's Wardrobe Was An Accident' Andrew Blaze's wardrobe may come as no surprise to be an influence of ally Sonata Dusk, but did you know Andrew Blaze originally wasn't supposed to wear the outfit? In late winter of early 2015 a short film called "Curtain Call" was being written and screen tested under "PioneersProductions". The film was a sequel to the "PioneersProductions Finale Series" episode "Absolution", and focused on a television recording of Send Request being manipulated by a ghost, Ember Florez. Andrew (left) was one of the camera operators for the performance and Ember (right) was originally the ghost tampering with the performance. After screen tests and weeks of preparation the short film was drastically rewritten, completely removing Ember Florez and Andrew from the film, and replacing them with Alex Gebhart and Celesta Reynolds; Alex filling in Andrew's role and Celesta tampering with the show. This change would be what would launch "EGS" into what it is today. With Ember Florez being omitted from the film and the series itself (at the time it was considered the "EGS Prologue Series"), Andrew Blaze inherited the outfit, which is what ended up going to screen in the original and completed "Comeback Song" intro sequence. Only 2 1/2 to 3 months before the intro's 2016 release Andrew's hair was redesigned, adding additional layers and making it more messy. 'Mackenzie West's Perplexed Trademark Eye' '' '' Mackenzie West originally didn't have the perplexed trademark right eye. Being she was only originally a background character there wasn't any standout features for her. Mackenzie underwent constant wardrobe changes between June 2015 and March 2016, one of the biggest being her shirt. Mackenzie's original completed design made her look too masculine with the blue tie dye shirt; her hair also originally had a grey trim as opposed to purple. In March 2016 Andrew Blaze redesigned her to how she appears today. One of the biggest accidents was leaving one of her eyes locked in an assertive pose. It is very common to see images of the EGS with their eyes squished in assertive and aggressive fashion, but Mackenzie always uniquely has her right eye locked into that pose. A major reason why is because it is a trademark feature that carried over into the afterlife from her constant overthinking and second guessing thoughts. One eye is always locked in an assertive pose whereas the other is either neutral or varied. 'Rachael Shadows Was Originally A Background Character' '' '' You never truly know when a character can take off, and in the case of Rachael Shadows she wasn't even intended to be a lead character. Rachael originally only appeared in one shot of the original intro sequence in September 2015; she had black hair and your ordinary rock star outfit. In the Spring of 2016 there was an attempt made to reboot the "EGS Prologue Series" (now the "PioneersProductions Finale Series") only this time around the series would focus primarily on the "EGS". The series was going to be live video mixed with animation with Rachael Shadows preparing and training human Andrew Blaze for the afterlife. The first scene of the first episode was written and filmed but was never animated. The series was cancelled and Rachael instead made her first appearance in the October 2016 "Conspiring a Massacre 02" episode of "EGS Tapes". 'The "Comeback Song" Intro Sequence Took 15 Months To Create' The "Comeback Song" intro sequence underwent the most work from a production standpoint. The sequence originally went into production in late March 2015. Originally only Andrew Blaze played and sang the song. Being the production name changed from "PioneersProductions" to "EGS Productions" in January 2016 there were extremely significant differences in terms of visuals. The earlier versions had material from "PioneersProductions" whereas the "premier" version (June 2016) was 100% "EGS". Three different animation styles were experimented with throughout the 15 months. The original April 2015 version was constructed entirely out of Photoshop layers. In late Spring the models were completely redesigned in Flash, and would later be completely redesigned again in Fall 2015 and Spring 2016. There were at least 30 different versions of the sequence; Send Request themselves even appeared in some earlier versions. The only areas that remained largely unchanged were the opening "They all say I'm broken" and "Welcome to the squad" sections, everything else differed drastically from version to version. It was an extremely slow process. Another version was cut for "Finding a Purpose" which eliminated most of the backgrounds and replaced them with portions of the episodes. Although the intro is longer than any of the animated content that has been released, it underwent the most work and preparation, making it the most solid video on the channel. The endeavor of creating the intro showed a step by step process of Andrew Blaze's animation learning process. Having never animated before in their life, the piece stands out as something that will one day hopefully be memorable for years to come. 'A "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" Emblem Was The Earliest Trace Of "EGS"' The earliest trace of "EGS" goes back to a "Call of Duty: Black Ops II" emblem. In March 2013 Andrew Blaze designed this model using the emblem editor. It was plastered all over "PioneersProductions" in profile pictures, end screens, and gaming compilations; also stemming from this design were the Recruiter Ghosts. "PioneersProductions" started a gaming channel in 2013, and these silhouette Ember ghosts were plastered throughout virtually every gaming video. These ghosts would later be revealed to be "Recruiter Ghosts". These Black Ops II emblems even appear in the most viewed "Remember" video on YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBMOc24_aIw The emblem ended up being used throughout the "PioneersProductions Finale Series" for Ember Florez. A dramatization of creating the emblem was shown in the final episode, "Absolution". The design was used in "Extinction" and "Resurrection" but had little to no animation. In "Absolution" the model was completely redesigned in Photoshop. 'Mackenzie West and Rachael Shadows Were Both Voiced By Three Different People' If there were ever a period of unwarranted stress it was finding Mackenzie West and Rachael Shadows' voices. Mackenzie West was originally voiced by Wubcake, but it didn't even start there. In March 2016 the 'EGS Tapes' pilot "Scariest Experience of My Life" was written and sent to a voice actress named Ness. Unfortunately the script proved to be too dark and personal for the young and fresh voice actress, causing her to be cut from the cast. A few days later we got an email from Wubcake, offering to voice future productions; it would be the only episode that she would voice, with the exception of sporadic Ember McLain voices and laughs. In September 2016 we permanently replaced Wubcake with another voice actress, Laura Faverty. Rachael Shadows also was voiced by three different people. Rachael was one of the toughest voices to cast. It took a total of 2 1/2 - 3 months to find our beloved and disturbed Rachael Shadows. Two voice actresses failed to stay in touch and were immediately terminated. In September 2016 we found Laura Faverty, and the rest is history. Voicing total polar opposite characters, Laura voices both the shy and depressed Mackenzie West and the dark, conspiring, homicidal Rachael Shadows. 'Celesta Reynolds Was Originally Voiced By Mallorie Suzanne's (Sidney Secor) Sister' Celesta Reynolds was originally voiced by Mallorie Suzanne's (Sidney Secor) sister, Haley Passmore. During the production for the short films "Curtain Call" (2015) and "Welcome to the Squad" (2015), Mallorie Suzanne was sending Andrew Blaze recordings of the various voices and accents that she was capable of doing (April 2015); lingering in the background of the audio was her sister, Haley. Mallorie was doing a low and careless voice when Haley started to join in and participate by doing the same type of voice. Being the voice over was sent as just an audio track, Andrew was confused when he first heard the playback because it sounded as if two takes were laid on top of one another. He later got confirmation in a Facebook message that it was in fact Mallorie's sister. With no debate Haley was immediately offered the role of Celesta Reynolds. Haley would voice Celesta in "Curtain Call" and "Welcome to the Squad", but would sadly be cut from the cast in April 2016 due to personal reasons. In early Summer 2016 Reira replaced Haley as the permanent voice for Celesta Reynolds, and first appeared in the first 'EGS' short "Finding a Purpose". Being Mallorie and Haley were sisters, a point was made to produce a short that featured Sidney Secor and Celesta Reynolds so the two could act with one another. A script was written but ended up having to be completely scrapped after getting word from Mallorie that Haley wouldn't be able to participate in future projects. During this time (April 2016) the "Comeback Song" intro was nearing its completion, and the time had come to start planning out the first episode. "Finding a Purpose" wasn't intended to be the first episode, but being Sidney and Celesta were destined to be in a video together, it was decided to base the pilot around them. Although Reira's voice is higher than Haley's, she fit the character to a t, as if Haley never truly left. We will always appreciate the work and time that Haley put into Celesta's voice. 'EGS Tapes Was Inspired By "The Sixth Sense"' What could hit closer to home than cassette tapes containing real life experiences that were documented on tape by real life people? "EGS Tapes" was originally inspired by the film "The Sixth Sense". Bruce Willis' character plays a cassette tape in one of the scenes in the film and eerily discovers a ghost speaking on the audio track. This scene stuck with Andrew Blaze for years and eventually led to the creation of "EGS Tapes". The original pilot episode of "EGS Tapes" was originally released on "PioneersProductions", involving Andrew Blaze documenting his thoughts in a therapeutic fashion. The tape was removed from YouTube along with Alex Gebhart's "Breakup" tape when "PioneersProductions" renamed to "EGS Productions" in January 2016. The tape will be re-released on the "EGS Tapes Vol. 01 Soundtrack" this winter, along with another pulled tape that ended up being used throughout the entire duration of the final "PioneersProductions" episode, "Abyss". '"The Legend of Brooker Swamp" Episode Was Created Out Of A Collection Of Various Childhood Home Movies' "The Legend of Brooker Swamp" 'EGS Tapes' episode is a one of a kind piece. It was made by stitching over four different home movies together. Although there is no visible footage in the episode, the episode stems from home movies that all date back to 2004. Sporadic snippets of audio were stitched together with no rhyme or reason and was just messed around with for fun. The episode was simply a laughable experiment that ended up turning into a spooky "found footage" production. Virtually every four lines of dialogue are taken from different seasons of the year 2004. The bulk of the walkie-talkie audio was filmed in Winter 2004, whereas most of the remaining audio was filmed in July 2004. The only modern recordings were Wubcake's "Ember McLain" laughs, which were recorded in Spring 2016. The actual footage from the bulk of "The Legend of Brooker Swamp" consists of horrifically shaky hand-held visuals. The camera is always portrayed in first person point of view and rarely stays steady. Tape static appears throughout the entire sequence for one of the tapes (for any dialogue that references monsters, running, or walkie-talkies), covering 15-25% of the top and bottom portion of the frame. Andrew Blaze frequently messed around with the video camera in his elementary and middle school days, most of the time with his friend, Matthew Gilbert, whose voices both create Matthew Murray and Josh Lynch. The videos were filmed on DV cassette tapes and eventually saw the light of day in June 2016 on "PioneersProductions" as "The Lost Tapes". The bulk of the footage audio that was used in the episode has yet to be released on YouTube, but as previously stated, is horrifically shaky. 'Matthew Murray and Josh Lynch Are Named After Real Life People' The characters on the "Legend of Brooker Swamp" tape are named after two real life people who died in car accidents. Matthew Murray and Tom Lynch (both 18) died tragically in car accidents in 2012. These two deaths contributed towards the creation of "EGS", and forever remain a drive for creator, Andrew Blaze. Murray crashed around 1:30am in December 2012 and was thrown from the vehicle; he died at the scene. Tom Lynch crashed into a tree on his way to school; he was pronounced dead on arrival shortly after arriving at the hospital. Tom and Matt were two amazing individuals whose lives ended far too soon. '"Finding a Purpose" Had Three Different Endings' "Finding a Purpose" was the first official fully animated "EGS" production (with the exception of the intro sequence). Although short, the video's ending went through various rewrites. The original ending had Celesta burning Sidney with another insult, leaving Sidney to once again try to gain Celesta's respect; Celesta leaves and Sidney has one last joke to end the video. The second ending was much more simplistic. Instead of Celesta shooting Sidney with her Vaporizer 420, the video ended with the camera zooming in on Celesta's face after Sidney says that she's "never in a good mood." Around four days before its release the ending was reanimated in the spur of the moment, having Sidney's body shatter into pieces after being shot into a tree. Her screams and laughter stem from one of the original scrapped pilot episodes from November 2015. There are times on occasion where dialogue is taken from outtakes or older scrapped episodes; it's seamless and you never notice. '"Unleash the Candy Voice Over Was Recorded With A Cold"' It's a voice over artist's worst nightmare; not having full range of your voice due to an illness. Like "Finding a Purpose" only two ghosts had their voices heard throughout the video. What you don't know is Froggy and Andrew's voice overs were recorded with a head cold. Although the video was intended to be out in time or slightly after Halloween, the video itself took until late December to complete. The voice overs were recorded in the final week of October and the first week and a half of November due to a sinus cold caught in the later weeks of October. The "Unleash the Candy" song was recorded during this time period as well, impairing the range of the vocals. The song went through various lead and backing vocal changes but ultimately the first set of takes were used; the track was never re-recorded for the sake of time. Some voice over takes suffered from voice cracks and hoarseness yet the finished takes used in the video mask the cold. Froggy's voice over suffered the most due to the lack of vocal range. '"The Opening Line For "My Life Is Over" Was Written In The Shower"' Creativity comes in the most unpredictable places; like taking a shower. The line, "everyone is born in the shadows, surrounded by darkness inside of our mothers" came to me in the shower. Once I got out I wrote the bulk of, if not the rest of the video. '"The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves Are A Real High School Basketball Team"' The Cedar Ridge Red Wolves are an actual basketball team that's based out of Hillsborough, NC. The women's basketball team were tournament champions from 2003-2005. '"Alex Gebhart's Recruit Name Was Originally 'Allegro Grave'"' Alex Gebhart's first appearance was in the scrapped/abandoned 2015 short film "Welcome to the Squad", which was released in October 2015 on "PioneersProductions". Alex's appearance was the general "recruit" rock star look. Although now known as Alex Gebhart, Alex's original recruit name was Allegro Grave. Chances are you can still hunt down and find pictures and edits that have "Allegro" in the title/description. Alex's name was changed after the release of "The Breakup" in September 2016, a year and half after her first appearance. The reasoning behind the name change is quite simple, it just sounded better and fit the design better. Alex isn't the only one to undergo a drastic name change; Andrew Blaze underwent two name changes. Andrew's original names were Andrew Lament and Andrew Nova; "Blaze" was chosen for her love of fire and the fiery passion to be who she and to just be herself. Since it's rare for recruits to keep their mortal name souls are often forced to choose an eternal name of their choice. As of March 2017 Mackenzie West, Sidney Secor, and Matilda Ramsey are the only listed recruits who opted to keep their mortal name. Alex also appeared in the second scrapped/abandoned short film "Curtain Call", which was released on "PioneersProductions" in October 2015.